NEAL FRANCIS: This Time

Rating: Neal Francis drops new single, This Time in the lead-up to the autumn release of full-length effort Changes and this – er – time, he says he went for the, “full Allen Toussaint vibe.” Which, for anyone familiar with previous Francis’ singles These Are The Days and Changes Pt 1, will know is going some from the man Craig Charles has dubbed the, “reincarnation of Allen Toussaint.” Is it possible for one man to get more Toussaint-y than that? It turns out the answer is ‘yes,’ upon hearing the warm organ swells and chord-changes in the first ten seconds – a fact underscored by the funkiness of what follows. Small wonder Francis got signed to Colemine Records imprint Karma Chief.